Canada not addressing U.S. plea to cut ties with Huawei

2018 has seen Huawei faced with a lot of heat from the United States’ government over national security concerns, and most recently in this never-ending crusade, the U.S. is now asking that Canada end its working relationship with the Chinese telecommunications company.

According to The Globe and Mail, lawmakers from the U.S. began asking that Canada cut its ties with Huawei on Monday. Huawei is currently using Canada to develop its emerging 5G technologies, but the U.S. in insistent that Huawei poses a security threat to Canada as it does in the States.

Following this request, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said:

I do not discuss specific cases in the House or with the media. The security and police authorities of this country are charged with the responsibility of taking the steps that are necessary, within the law and the Constitution, to keep Canadians safe and to safeguard the national interests of Canada, and they do that job.

As you might expect, Huawei’s critics aren’t at all pleased with this response. Nathan Cullen, a member of the Candian House of Commons, believes there should be a vote to determine whether or not Huawei should be allowed to continue working on Canada’s 5G infrastructure. In responses to Goodale’s statement, Cullen said:

Simply shrugging and giving non-answers is not going to give Canadians or our security partners in Australia or the U.S., or others … any assurance that Canada takes security at all seriously.